New requirements for employee health care plans originally scheduled to go into effect next month now have been delayed for at least a few more months. Congress has deferred the effective date of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPA) until January 2010. The MHPA does not require health insurance plans to provide mental health or addiction disorder benefits if they do not do so already. However, for group health plans that do choose to provide mental health and/or substance use … [Read more...] about Mental Health Parity Act Effective Date Delayed Until January 2010
New FMLA Standards Applicable: Some Employees May Be Entitled to Up To 26 Unpaid Weeks Leave
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law new FMLA leave entitlements for military families (“military family leave provisionsâ€). The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 amended the FMLA to provide two new types of unpaid military family leave for FMLA-eligible employees: “qualifying exigency leave†and “military caregiver leave.†Both types of leave have been in effect since January 16, 2009, after the publication of new regulations by the Department of Labor. … [Read more...] about New FMLA Standards Applicable: Some Employees May Be Entitled to Up To 26 Unpaid Weeks Leave
Introducing GINA New Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
President Bush is expected to sign into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) passed last week by Congress. The new law, which has been debated in Congress for 13 years, adds to current federal anti-discrimination laws (including Title VII) prohibitions on employers and insurance companies using genetic tests showing people are at risk of developing cancer, heart disease or other ailments to reject their job applications, promotions or health care coverage, or in setting … [Read more...] about Introducing GINA New Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
“Alert: New Form I-9 Effective Immediately”
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), which enforces federal employment verification requirements, has issued the first updated Form I-9 since 1991. Devised to help employers verify that every new employee is either a U.S. citizen or authorized to work in the U.S., the law requires that the new Form I-9 be used for all individuals hired on or after November 7, 2007. However, CIS also granted a 30-day "transition period" for employers to begin using the new form. That transition … [Read more...] about “Alert: New Form I-9 Effective Immediately”
U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS ARGUMENT ON HOME HEALTH WORKER EXEMPTION UNDER WAGE AND HOUR LAWS.
Long Island Care at Home vs. Coke, a federal case concerning home health worker compensation, got its second hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 16, 2007. Before the justices: the validity of a longstanding Department of Labor regulation regarding “companionship services†provided by third parties (read: home health agencies) “to the care of the elderly or infirm.†Coke’s attorneys argued that Congress understood the terms "domestic service employment," as used in the … [Read more...] about U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS ARGUMENT ON HOME HEALTH WORKER EXEMPTION UNDER WAGE AND HOUR LAWS.
DADS Mandates Employer Implemented Policies Addressing Fraud and False Claims Laws, Including Whistleblower Protections
DADS issued Information Letter 07-50 on May 10, 2007, requiring all Home and Community-Based (HCS) and Texas Home Living (TxHmL) Providers educate employees, contractors, and agents about federal and state fraud and false claims laws, and the whistleblower protections available under those laws. The mandate comes from the employee educational requirements under Section 6032 of the Federal Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005. Specifically, effective January 1, 2007, all providers who receive or … [Read more...] about DADS Mandates Employer Implemented Policies Addressing Fraud and False Claims Laws, Including Whistleblower Protections
New EEO-1 Forms and Regulations – September 30th Deadline
The Employer Information Report, commonly known as the EEO-1 Report, has finally gotten a major makeover that affects what information you must collect about your employees and how you collect it. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) revised the form in response to additions made to racial and ethnic categories collected for the 2000 census and issued final regulations in November 2005. (Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 227, Monday, November 28, 2005.) Private employers with 100 … [Read more...] about New EEO-1 Forms and Regulations – September 30th Deadline
Pay for Travel Time Under the FLSA comin’-and-goin’
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for non-exempt employees. (Non-exempt employees are those who are (a) not paid on a salary basis, and/or (b) not employed in an executive, administrative, professional or outside sales capacity.) The FLSA requires employers to pay non-exempt employees the minimum wage for all hours worked and to pay one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over forty in any work week. … [Read more...] about Pay for Travel Time Under the FLSA comin’-and-goin’
U.S. Supreme Court to Address Companionship Exemption Under FLSA
In mid-2004, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit became the first federal appellate court holding that the companionship services exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSAâ€) could not be used by home health agencies to avoid paying its home care attendants minimum wage and overtime pay. (Coke v Long Island Care at Home, Ltd., 376 F3d 118 (2d Cir 2004)). Citing a 2005 Wage and Hour Advisory Memorandum issued by the Department of Labor (DOL), the US … [Read more...] about U.S. Supreme Court to Address Companionship Exemption Under FLSA
Inch-by-Inch: The Fair Minimum Wage Act passes the House of Representatives
As proposed by the House of Representatives, minimum wage requirements would increase from the current standard of $5.15 to $7.25 in approximately three years. Introduced by Representative George Miller, the Fair Minimum Wage Act passed the House by 315-116 on January 10, 2007, and is expected to affect up to 13 million of America's minimum wage workers. As currently drafted, minimum wages would increase as follows: • 60 days after enactment: The minimum wage will increase from the … [Read more...] about Inch-by-Inch: The Fair Minimum Wage Act passes the House of Representatives
